Texas Senate Approves Remaining Special Session Bills

The Texas Senate plans to adjourn for an extended weekend, having passed more than a dozen bills in just seven days.

Senators have been whittling down the governor's special session agenda -- including property tax reform and several pieces at the top of the list for social conservatives.

“We've got parental choice for disabled kids, we have the Texas privacy act, we've got constitutional limits making sure we don't overspend the people's money,” says state Sen. Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston.

Bettencourt says even the so-called "bathroom bill" has been scrubbed down to what he believes should be acceptable to House Speaker Joe Straus.

“It's a straight forward privacy bill that says transgender kids get accommodations in school districts, we can't have government telling businesses what to do,” he says.  “And in the intermediate, we don't want girls and boys in the same locker rooms.”

The House now has 20 days to finalize each bill.

 “We've put in 27 hours of time and the House has only put in four hours of time on the floor,” says Bettencourt.  “The Senate has gone first, we've come to work and we've done what Texans expect which is vote on major issues, so now it's time for the House to do the same.”


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